Lexington, KY - After awarding nearly $20 million to education and the arts in Central and Eastern Kentucky, the W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Foundation announced that it will no longer be making awards.
"It was always Lucille's intention that the Little Foundation award all grant money within ten to twelve years after her death," said Proc Caudill, Vice President of the Little Foundation. "In accordance with her wishes, the Little Foundation Board of Directors committed all remaining grant funds at its meeting in July 2011."
After the death of her husband, Paul Little, in 1990, Mrs. Little discovered she was the sole heir to an enormous fortune. During her lifetime, Mrs. Little personally contributed over $30 million to education, the arts, human services, and other causes she believed in. She became a celebrated philanthropist and patron of the arts. Not surprisingly, she also received an overwhelming number of requests for support.
Mrs. Little established the W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Foundation in 1999 as a way to evaluate requests more efficiently and to become more strategic in her philanthropy. She chose to focus on her passions: education and arts. And she wanted to specifically benefit Fayette, Rowan, and Elliott Counties, because, as she said, that's where Paul Little made his money. She saw it as was a way of giving back to the communities that had been so good to them.
Following Mrs. Little's death in 2002, the W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Foundation partnered with Blue Grass Community Foundation to administer its grantmaking program. Grants were awarded through a competitive application process. During the next decade, Little Foundation board members reviewed close to 500 requests for support. They carefully considered each organization's mission, evaluated its sustainability, reviewed its financial statements, and debated the merits and impact of the proposed project. They also asked themselves, and each other, "What would Lucille think of this proposal?"
During her lifetime, Mrs. Little established a number of endowments to provide a steady stream of income to help further an organization's mission in perpetuity. The Little Foundation Board followed her example and established many endowments to ensure an organization's sustainability.
As the Little Foundation approached the end of its grantmaking funds in 2010, the board discussed ways to ensure that Mrs. Little's legacy would continue long after all grant money was awarded. They explored possibilities and then voted to make two pro-active grants to agencies especially dear to Mrs. Little's heart. In May 2011, the Little Foundation announced awards totaling $5 million to fund endowments of $2.5 million each for the benefit of Morehead State University and Lexington Children's Theatre as a way to honor Mrs. Little's life-long commitment to young people and the arts.
The $2.5 million award to MSU establishes the W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Endowment for Study of the Arts, which will provide scholarships for MSU students primarily from Rowan or Elliott County who pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art, Music, or Theatre. "The Little Foundation is very pleased to create an endowment at Morehead State University that will allow college level students to continue their education in the arts," said Proc Caudill. "Through this scholarship, students will be able to learn about the things that Mrs. Little held so dear."
The $2.5 million award to Lexington Children's Theatre will support drama programs for young people in Rowan and Elliott County. "We are grateful that the Little Foundation has been so supportive of our programming over the years. All of us here at LCT are thrilled to know that we will be able to continue to provide dramatic arts programming in a region that was so important to Mrs. Little."
Blue Grass Community Foundation will manage and administer the Lexington Children's Theatre's endowment. "We are very pleased to manage this endowment for the Lexington Children's Theatre," said Lisa Adkins, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. "Every year, approximately $125,000 will be available to fund outreach programs to Rowan and Elliott Counties. As the endowment grows, so will the yearly funding amount."
After the Little Foundation permanently dissolves, Blue Grass Community Foundation will continue to administer ongoing grants and endowments on behalf of the Little Foundation. "Because the Community Foundation has variance power," said Allison Lankford, Vice President and General Counsel for the Community Foundation, "these awards will continue to benefit the projects and programs they were meant to fund, forever. If, for some reason, a recipient organization closes its doors, the Community Foundation will find another organization to carry out the programs these grants were intended to support."
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For a complete list of W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Foundation grant recipients and projects,
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It would be hard to imagine Lexington's art community today without Mrs. Little's vision and generous support. Mrs. Little was instrumental in establishing the Lexington Children's Theatre, Studio Players, the Lexington Symphony, the Lexington Philharmonic, ArtsPlace, the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra, the Living Arts & Science Center, the Lexington Council on Social Planning, and the Bluegrass Girl Scout Council. Her generous support was crucial to other organizations as well. She also personally supported, among others, KET, the Lexington Ballet, the Opera Guild of Central Kentucky, the Headley-Whitney Museum, Hospice of the Bluegrass, The Salvation Army, the Lexington Theological Seminary, Midway College, First Christian Church, St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead, LexArts, Lexington Musical Theatre, Actors Guild, and the Kentucky Horse Park.
Still, the news that the W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Foundation will no longer award competitive grants for arts and education will no doubt be greeted with great disappointment, to say the least. Such generous support is increasingly hard to come by in these difficult economic times.
But it's important to remember Mrs. Little's legacy. Her intention was always to encourage others to share her vision-and to personally contribute to the arts and other causes that so enrich our lives. When she established the Little Foundation, Mrs. Little stipulated that the Foundation require dollar-for-dollar matches for grants of $100,000 and over. And in response, communities in Fayette, Rowan, and Elliott Counties raised close to $9 million to meet the challenge.
"The Little Foundation did exactly what Mrs. Little designed it to do--to indelibly and permanently enrich the arts communities in Fayette, Elliott and Rowan Counties.
The awarding of her final charitable dollars doesn't necessarily leave a void. Rather, it creates incredible opportunity. At Blue Grass Community Foundation, we believe philanthropy creates more philanthropy.
Anyone can do what Mrs. Little did, which was to combine his or her passion and creativity with charitable aspiration,"Adkins said, adding that the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit now makes it even more attractive for others to establish endowments at community foundations to support causes they are passionate about.
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For more information about the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit
. to learn how to open your own charitable fund at the Community Foundation, contact Lisa Adkins at ladkins@bgcf.org or 859-225-3343.
Thanks to Mrs. Little's generosity-and to the generosity of our communities--the arts will continue to flourish in Kentucky for generations to come.
Please contact Barbara Fischer at 859-225-3343 or bfischer@bgcf.org with any questions.
Barbara A. Fischer, is Director of Nonprofit Services, Blue Grass Community Foundation